A Milford man accidentally shot his friend through the thigh on Wednesday while he was cleaning his brand new .40-caliber pistol, police said.

The shooting occurred at about 4:22 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Lake Street. The 21-year-old Milford man was cleaning his handgun, and unbeknownst to him, a round was in the chamber, said Bellingham Lt. Kevin Ranieri, the Daily News reported.

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"I can’t explain why there was a round in the chamber," Ranieri said.

The gun discharged, with the bullet striking a 23-year-old Bellingham man in the upper thigh and exiting through his right buttock, Ranieri said.

"At this point it appears to be accidental," he said.

EMTs first called for a medical helicopter for the injured man, but the blustery weather made it too dangerous to fly. Instead he was taken by ambulance to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

According to police, his injuries were non-life-threatening, and he has since been released.

As a precaution, police confiscated the Milford man’s handgun. He received his license to carry from the Milford Police Department.

Ranieri said the department does not field many accidental shooting calls.

"Sometimes people don’t report it, but by law, if somebody went to a hospital with a gunshot wound, they’re mandated to call police," he said. "In this case, they ended up calling fire and police."